The Substitute Hokage
by liveintheskies
Summary: A prank war gone too far leads to Sakura becoming the new Hokage. Her new job forces her to not only define the relationship with her old teacher, but she also has to deal with two angry team members, plus stacks of paperwork. Rated M for language / implied lemons. Kakasaku.
1. Prank War!

**The Substitute Hokage**

Hey everyone, welcome to my first posted Fic. This story is called 'The Substitute Hokage'.

Summary: A prank war gone too far leads to Sakura becoming the new Hokage. Her new job forces her to not only define the relationship with her old teacher, she also has to deal with two angry team members, plus stacks of paperwork.

Pairings: Kakasaku

Rating: M, for language; and for lemons in later chapters.

**Chapter 1 – Prank War!  
**A boy with blonde, spiky hair ran across the rooftops, as fast as he could. He was running extremely fast, like he was trying to outrun an enemy, or like he tried to make it to Ichiraku's before he closed for the night.  
But that wasn't what Uzumaki Naruto was running for. Following him was an agile kunoichi, her bright pink hair flooding behind her gracefully, her medic's outfit bright white. When Naruto looked back, all he saw was his beautiful teammate following her like a flowing blossom in the wind – until she opened her mouth. "Naruto, you PRICK!" Haruno Sakura screamed. "When you run out of steam I'll PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE!" Luckily, the hyperactive jinchūriki had enough energy to last for a while, and he knew that Sakura wasn't someone who could outrun him, but he didn't think that he would run into a hard surface, which grabbed him by his arm and threw him on his back.

"Ha, Gotcha!" Sakura dispelled her clone, and grabbed Naruto at his collar. "You BAKA! You're not getting away with this!" she screamed, and punched him in the stomach. The punch wasn't enhanced with chakra, but it still hurt. Sakura was still an awesome kunoichi. Naruto knew that this was going to suck. "I'll never let you forget this, Naruto! Why would you steal all of my clothes while I'm in the shower! Lucky for me, I had one of my spare outfits in my bag, otherwise I couldn't have gone to work today!"

Naruto was definitely scared, he felt his heart beat in his chest and felt the colour drain out of his face. "It was just a little prank!" he blurted out, before Sakura's fist connected with his jaw.

"JUST A LITTLE PRANK?" Sakura yelled. "There ARE some people who HAVE to work every day, you idiot! Now tell me, WHERE did you put my clothes!?" She lifted her arm again, but before she could snap her arm forward to punch Naruto's face, someone grabbed her fist and stopped her. "Now, now, Sakura-chan. You shouldn't hit your own teammates," a warm but lazy voice commented, while his hand brought her fist down to her side. With his other hand he was holding his always-present porn book, and his dishevelled hair was as wild as ever.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Sakura shrieked. "Give me ONE good reason why I shouldn't hit him! He stole all of my clothes and claimed that it was JUST A PRANK! I had to wear THIS… THING.. to the hospital today! I looked fucking horrible! All because of that IDIOT!" She pointed at Naruto like she had pointed at him whenever he was late, when she was younger. Her nostrils were wide, her forehead was wrinkled.. She was angry. And every ninja in Konoha knew to keep out of her way when she was on an angry rampage.

"Ah, Sakura," Kakashi said, sounding unaffected by his ex-student's tantrum. "I was looking for you, actually. I saw Naruto hide a bag of clothing in the alley behind Ichiraku's Ramen stand." Kakashi chuckled, unsurprised of Naruto's hiding spot.

He probably smelled the Ramen and went to get a few bowls, instead of hiding the clothes. Typical. "You'll find your clothes there. You retrieve them, I'll talk with Naruto for a while."

"Arigatou Sensei!" She shot him a grateful look. Her eyes snapped to Naruto and she gave him a look of pure anger. Naruto shivered.

"Now go get your clothes, before someone else finds them," Kakashi advised, giving her his signature eye crinkle.  
"Hai!" the Kunoichi straightened out her medic outfit and started to run.

When Sakura was far away enough to speak to Naruto privately, Kakashi lazily shook his head to the Kyuubi vessel. "You know that pissing off Sakura is potentially dangerous."

"Yes Kakashi-sensei," Naruto grumbled. "It's just been a while between missions, and I was bored."  
"So you chose to piss off Sakura? You haven't changed at all in the last couple of years, Naruto." Kakashi sighed and started reading his beloved Icha Icha book, while Naruto scrambled himself to his feet.  
"You know she's going to get her revenge." Kakashi murmured. "You've picked the wrong opponent, Naruto."  
"I'm going to win this thing!" Naruto told Kakashi. "Believe it!"

Kakashi shook his head. "Your choice, Naruto." He mumbled. "But she's too cunning to let you win."

But Naruto was already gone, probably getting some food. Kakashi shrugged.

_They really didn't change at all, _he thought. _I hope this is not going to go too far._.  
And while his eyes were on his book, and his feet brought him to the memorial, his thoughts were about Sakura and her payback, and he came to the conclusion that she didn't look horrible in that Medic's outfit

* * *

The Hokage's office was quiet today. There had been a lot of paperwork – as always, a lot of whining from the advisors – also something she was getting used to, and a lack of sake, which was something she thought she deserved after signing five enormous stacks of paperwork. When the Gondaime Hokage stood up and turned to the window for the first time that day, she wasn't surprised that the sun was already setting, colouring the sky a deep red.  
_Hmm, the weather's going to change soon_, she thought, while looking over the many rooftops of Konoha.

There was a quiet tap on the door, and a set of footsteps walked into her office. Tsunade turned around, and looked at Shizune who walked to her desk tiredly.  
"Shizune?" Tsunade asked, "Are you alright?"  
The black haired woman sighed, and put a bottle of sake on the table with a loud thud. "You need a break. I've never seen you look so tired."

"Shizune, you have no IDEA how much I owe you right now," Tsunade said, taking a huge gulp of Sake straight from the bottle. "I've never seen so much paperwork to sign in all my years as Hokage. I haven't even been in the hospital for the last couple of weeks!"  
"This was an extremely busy month, Tsunade-sama," Shizune sighed. She even had a bottle of sake for herself. She, on the other hand, had grabbed a cup for herself to pour the sake in, while Tsunade had already finished half of her bottle. "The hospital was a chaos. Sakura-san outdid herself again. A minimal of five big surgeries a day. She worked too hard.. But we all did."  
"I need a break. And not just for a day. " Tsunade sighed. "I might not look like it, but I'm getting older.. Throwing all those office supplies starts to take its toll. Not to mention the 14 hours of work every day…"

"Well, let's relax a little more the next couple of weeks. We all deserve it," Shizune said, taking a small sip of her sake. "We're almost out of missions as well, the next busy moment will be two weeks after the festival. Only Kakashi-san and Sakura-san are going out on a mission next week. Most ninja take a few weeks of during this time of the year."

Tsunade, who had finished her bottle of sake and enviously looked at Shizune's bottle, yawned. "Well, we're friends with all the hidden villages now, so I bet that the next couple of weeks won't be as bad. I'll work more in the hospital, starting tomorrow.

Shizune smiled. "I was thinking, Tsunade-sama," she said softly, "That we could take a few weeks off in the next couple of months.. I know you miss your gambling…" Shizune offered Tsunade her bottle of sake, which Tsunade happily accepted. She didn't respond to Shizune's idea though. She had turned around to look at the village, the sun had already set, and the lights below made her proud of all the work that they had done the last couple of weeks.

"Shizune," Tsunade began, "I think this is an excellent idea. We both need some time off, and we have capable ninja in this village who could take over for a couple of weeks. We need a way to convince the council, though.."

Shizune's smile turned sour when she thought about the council.. They would never approve..

"We'll find a way, Shizune." Tsunade promised. "Now, I'm going to get some more sake. If we're going to take it easy starting tomorrow, I might as well have some fun before I go to sleep."

Shizune watched how the older woman jumped through the window, to the village. She knew that Tsunade was still a legendary sannin, and the best medical kunoichi worldwide, but her age was starting to get to her. And the thought of the Gondaime Hokage with a hangover in the office tomorrow, didn't encourage her either.

_We really need that time off… I hope we think of something.. _  
The black haired woman walked out of the office then, her thoughts on beaches, spa's, and gambling dens.

* * *

Hatake Kakashi never was a curious man, but after he had talked to his old students that afternoon, he had to check on the pink haired kunoichi. She was probably thinking about a thousand ways to torture Naruto at this moment, and they were going on a mission in three days. He just didn't want her to take revenge on him.

He knocked on her door hesitantly, expecting to hear an evil laugh any moment, but she opened the door quite normally. She even smiled at him, as he followed her through the door, into her living room. He chose to lean against the wall next to the living room door, which was close enough to quickly get to the nearest exit. He didn't want Sakura to punch him. He knew what she was like when she was angry.

Her house smelled divine, just like the girl herself. An intoxicating mix of peaches and cherries. He couldn't help but notice. There are ups and downsides to being a shinobi with a good nose. This was definitely one of those ups.

Sakura had traded in her Medic's outfit for something more casual. She looked good, he noticed. She traded in her old medic attire for comfy sweatpants and a red tank top. She looked better – and more evil - then a few hours before he stopped her punching Naruto.

"Sensei," she said mischievously, "As you probably have guessed, I already figured out a way to get my revenge. Sit down."  
Sakura gestured to her old couch, but Kakashi didn't budge. He really didn't want to be a test subject, and that couch looked suspicious..  
He was too caught up in his thoughts, though, and before he knew it, she had pulled him on the couch, grinning triumphantly.

"You're too distracted, Kakashi-sensei," she said, still grinning. "Don't worry about me tricking or pranking you. I need you fit for the next mission!"

Okay, so he didn't have to worry before the mission was over.. but after…  
He was safe for a couple of weeks or so, so he gave her his patented eye crinkle.  
"Thank you, Sakura-chan," he said teasingly. "I just needed to be.. reassured, I guess," he murmured. "You looked extremely angry this afternoon.. I bet you've already found a way to get back on Naruto."

She laughed, out loud. "Oh yes, this is going to be great!"

Kakashi swallowed nervously when she showed him a small bottle with a – probably illegal – substance in it.

"Sensei, do you remember when Naruto drank that sour milk and sat on the toilet for 16 hours straight?" Sakura asked him.

"Well, I'd rather not remember that.." Kakashi said. He'd be the one who had to fetch Naruto, and the memories and the smell weren't something that he considered to be a good memory.

"Well," she said, "I was helping Shizune cleaning up the medicine lab, and I found this bottle." She held the bottle up eagerly, and held it in front of her face to look at the contents. "Shizune laughed and told me that Tsunade-shishou used the contents of this bottle to annoy Jiraiya when he was peeking at the spa again."

Kakashi didn't respond. He didn't like where this prank war was going, and it was a matter of time before this escalated beyond proportion.

"Sakura, don't overdo it," he warned her, standing up. He grabbed his book, and while he walked out the door he heard her calling after him. "Thank you for checking on me, Kakashi-sensei! I'll see you at the ramen stand in an hour!"

He lifted his arm up as farewell and walked home, reading.

* * *

Naruto was going on a mission tomorrow, which gave him a great advantage over Sakura and their prank war. She had spiked his ramen yesterday, and he finally got the courage to get out of the bathroom. He couldn't sleep all night long – Sakura's potion – or poison – had the intended effect. His pain and humiliation mirrored the last time something like this happened, while he drank some old milk a few years ago.

She had the most evil grin he had ever seen on her – she must have really been mad at him to do something like this.

Ignoring his gurgling stomach, he stepped outside to do some preparations for his mission tomorrow.

It was a beautiful day today. Warm, even though it was still winter. The sun didn't shine as bright as on a summer's day, but it felt fantastic to walk outside.

Naruto went to get some food first, grabbing a couple of Ryo out of his frog wallet. He bought an apple – not wanting to eat the same ramen that made him feel so miserable yesterday, and nibbled on it on his way to the Hokage tower. He just had to pick up the mission scroll for tomorrow.

It was a solo mission to sand, and Tsunade always gave him missions like these because of his ambition to become Hokage. He needed to speak to the Kazekage Gaara about a new agreement between Konoha and Suna.

He was looking forward to the mission – Gaara and him had always maintained contact after saving him from the Akatsuki. He liked Suna, and the warm desert sun. It took him three days to get to Suna, which gave him enough time to not only relax a little, but also to think about his next prank. He wanted to get Sakura back.

He arrived at the Hokage tower, and walked through the spacious hallways, straight to the Hokage's office. He knocked on the door – something he learned doing because of Tsunade's love of throwing office supplies – and walked in when he heard Tsunade's voice, saying 'Come in!'

Tsunade looked horrible. She looked extremely tired, even though she used chakra to look like her young self. She was probably hung over. Naruto knew that she loved drinking and gambling, and she had probably done both last night. He knew that he shouldn't treat her like normal, but with more respect, to get out of the office unharmed.

"I'm here for the mission scroll, Tsunade-sama," Naruto said respectfully, earning a confused look from both Shizune and Tsunade. They had both noticed that he wasn't calling Tsunade 'Granny', that he wasn't hyper nor annoying, and that he actually sounded respectful towards the Hokage for once. Naruto saw Shizune nodding her approval in his peripheral vision.

Tsunade quickly grabbed the scroll, signed it, and gave it to Naruto, even smiling a little due to his mature behavior. But when Naruto turned around to walk away, she said "Naruto, there's one last thing I need to warn you about."

Naruto turned around, and looked confused at the Hokage.

"I heard that you started a prank war with my apprentice, Sakura?" She asked. She looked very serious. Naruto nodded, a bit hesitant.

"Don't take the prank war too far, Naruto," she said stern. "I know who you are, and I know who Sakura is. She won't back down, and she'll find something to get back at you, which will be ten times worse than your worst nightmare.." Tsunade grinned softly. "She's my apprentice, after all."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama," Naruto said quietly. He was too stubborn to let Sakura go. He was going to get his revenge. But first, he had to take care of the mission assigned to him.

He left the office quickly, heading home, thinking about several ways to prank Sakura. Maybe he had to involve Sasuke, after all.

* * *

Let me know what you think!


	2. Two Missions!

Thank you MarineDweller for your review! :D

Again, this is my first actually published fanfic and I really do like hearing what you all think! If there's anything on your mind – spelling errors, vague plot points, missed references… put it in a review!

So, this chapter is a lot less random/goofy compared to chapter one. This does clear up some plot points, and will set the foundation for the rest of the story.

I do not own Naruto.

**Chapter 2: Two Missions**

Shizune swallowed nervously when she heard a knock on the door of the Hokage's office. They were going to ask for a few weeks off today, something which was normally unheard of. The Third Hokage never took a day off – he worked hard to keep the village he loved safe, and succeeded until his very last days.

The councillors, an elderly man and woman who had seen the reign of the Third Hokage from beginning to end, and who were team members of the second Hokage, had always been very hard on Tsunade. They were also too old fashioned, according to Tsunade, and Shizune agreed. They always wanted to lock up Naruto, or keep him hidden in the village from the public, which Tsunade overruled a few times in the past.

But if Tsunade decided to retire as Hokage, Naruto would be the next logical choice. The councillors had to become more modern and more accustomed to Naruto before he could take the seat – but she remembered what Tsunade had said about the current councillors.

_"__Those old geezers are too stuck in their world, in which Konoha is always surrounded by danger. Konoha has never been this safe. This is, of course, because of the alliance of the Hidden Villages and because of Naruto's work in maintaining this alliance. The councillors are convinced that the other Villages will turn on us soon – they do not know the meaning of true peace," Tsunade had told both her and Sakura. Tsunade sighed. "If the day ever comes that Naruto takes over this seat as the Rokudaime Hokage – I refuse to call Danzo the sixth, the councillors have to go. But for now, we need them for their advice, which has always been in favour of the village."_

Thus, they needed the council's consent before Tsunade and she could go on their holiday.

Shizune quickly stopped her musings when the doors of the Hokage's office swung open, revealing the two old councillors, Homura Mitakado and Koharu Utatane.

Tsunade bowed to them. "Homura-sama, Koharu-sama," she said respectfully, while Shizune helped them to their seats. The councillors had become quite old, and weren't as fast as they used to be, but their minds were still clear.

"Now, Tsunade-sama," Koharu said, "You're only this graceful when you want something from us. Is this about the Nine-tails vessel again?"

The old woman obviously knew that they were after something now. Luckily, she guessed wrong, and Tsunade kept her annoyance under control. Shizune knew exactly what to look for to guess her mood.

"It's not about the Kyuubi, Homura-sama, Koharu-sama. This is a personal issue." Tsunade said slowly, a very serious look on her face. Shizune was mildly surprised – Tsunade really wanted those weeks off.

"It's about me and Shizune, and our work for the village. This last month has put too much strain on me and Shizune. I might not look like it, but I've become older – I'm almost sixty years old now. Shizune and my apprentice, Sakura Haruno, have had a minimum of 5 major surgeries each day this month. Now that it's finally calmed down, I wanted to go on a break for a couple of weeks, and take Shizune with me."

"Now there, Tsunade, that's highly unprofessional," Homura Mitakado said. "We need our Hokage in the village to fend off any possible danger! Who else is going to go out there, and take up that responsibility?"

_The old man has a point, but Tsunade has already thought this out_, Shizune thought to herself.

"Well, councillors," Tsunade said. "We should use this time to mentor Naruto Uzumaki. He had always been the top Hokage candidate since Pain attacked Konoha. This is a great opportunity for us to not only see how Naruto would handle this job, but also to let me and Shizune rest."

The councillors looked at each other quietly. They are probably thinking about a strategy to keep us here, Shizune thought, expecting them to become angry at the Hokage. But to her surprise, the opposite happened.

"Well, Tsunade, I think you've got a great plan there," Koharu Utatane murmured, defeated. "I've heard a lot of shinobi about the Hero who saved the village. This would be a huge opportunity for Naruto, and for Konoha. All his diplomacy missions have been successful. It IS fair to give him a shot at being the Hokage."

"I allow it," Homura Mitakado added.

Tsunade looked at Shizune proudly, and their thoughts were easy to read – their facial expressions said it all. _We're going on a Holiday!_

* * *

The sun was shining bright above Konoha. It was spring, and the trees started their cycle of life yet again: Small leaves filling the trees with a lush green, the pink petals on the Cherry Blossom trees still too light and too small to fly on the wind, and the small flowers that sprouted in Konoha's grassy areas made Sakura Haruno feel fantastic.

The weather in Konoha was amazing today – the sun shone brightly and warm in the sky. There were no clouds to be seen, and there was no wind either – something that almost never occurred in Konoha. Many shinobi and citizens had noticed the fantastic weather. The streets were packed with people. Couples shopping or sipping their drinks on one of Konoha's terraces, street vendors who sold all kinds of accessories and sometimes even weapons for ninja, and children, who were playing hide and seek in the sun.

_Konoha is such an amazing town, _Sakura thought. She was on her way to Kakashi's apartment, to check up on him and to bring him some stuff for the mission they were going on tomorrow. Her thoughts moved to Naruto. She missed him, even though his prank today had been amazingly awkward.

Naruto had left three days earlier on his mission to Suna, and had left her with an annoying surprise. He had actually told Sasuke that she wanted some company while she trained. She liked company during training – especially when she was training with Naruto or Kakashi, but training with the Uchiha always made her feel uncomfortable.

Sasuke had returned to the village a year ago, and in her overjoyed state of mind, she had asked him out, only to be refused immediately. She had been heartbroken back then, and she still couldn't look him in the eyes without feeling completely embarrassed. He didn't want her, and she had been too naïve to see that. She had always loved him. But all of that disappeared after his fast decline when she had asked him out.

They were friends now, although not as close as Sasuke and Naruto were now. An outsider would have thought that they were brothers, even though the two men looked nothing like each other. Sasuke had loosened up as well, and his new stance on Konoha – a town to protect, not to destroy - had a certain warmth in it, which made him likeable for the first time in six years.

They had trained together. He had actually complimented her a few times. The training went well. But Sakura couldn't get rid of the awkward feeling that had always been there between them – a feeling that told them what they could have been. That feeling lingered – and instead of feeling happy and warm, a chill crept over her spine. She shuddered.

Pushing those thoughts aside, she looked up and noticed that she had almost reached her old sensei's apartment. The building looked like always – a dark grey flat with three floors reserved for shinobi. Normally, the block would've been empty, but because of the weather and because most shinobi had a few weeks off this time of the year, even this part of Konoha was lively. Two ninja were training in the middle of the street, a woman was sunbathing, lying on her back on a chair on her balcony. An ANBU agent carrying a bag walked out of the building, and some kids were practicing their Henge jutsu.

Sakura smiled when she looked to her sensei's apartment. The aloof man was standing on his balcony, leaning against the wall. His icha icha novel was in his hand, and his eye was obviously focused on reading the smutty novel. When he saw his student approaching – _how did he do that_, Sakura thought - he stepped aside, making some room for her to jump on this balcony.

Sakura still had some chakra left. She focused the chakra on her feet and legs, and pushed herself from the ground. She jumped up – reaching the second story with ease, and landed on the small spot he reserved for her.

"Kakashi-sensei!" she said enthusiastically. "I'm here to bring you some stuff. You know, for the mission tomorrow. May I also remind you that we have to leave at 7 a.m. sharp?"

"Hi there, Sakura-chan," he said, giving her his eye crinkle. "Can't you let your old sensei relax on his day off.. and on A-rank missions, for that matter.."

She snorted, "7 a.m. No exceptions."

He pouted, a look she recognised only by looking at his uncovered eye. "Okay, then. I suppose you want to check the mission scroll and make a plan. 7 a.m., huh.."

He opened the door for her, and they both walked into his clean apartment. Sakura smiled to herself. She felt like she got to know him quite well the past couple of months. She was the only one, next to Gai, who could convince him to do something, to look at things more seriously, or to be on time for missions.

She had a gut feeling that this mission would be important for the both of them. Not only was the objective challenging, but this mission required flawless teamwork, and they both knew that they would be able to pull this off. Easily.

* * *

_There it is, dattebayo!_ "Finally, Sunagakure!" Naruto said enthusiastically – even though this was a solo mission, and there was no-one accompanying him. He had always been like this – using words not only to tell others what his ambitions were, but also to motivate himself.

Seeing Suna was something he had been looking forward to, though. He liked travelling through the desert. Running through the sand, the warm sun on his back – even though he liked the trip to Suna – seeing any Hidden Village felt like coming home to him. He had been to most Hidden Villages on diplomatic missions – Tsunade baa-chan always picked out those missions for him, and he had always gladly accepted them. He could meet with his friends he met during said missions, hang out with Octopops or, in this case, Gaara, and learn some new jutsu from another wind-style ninja.

Temari had helped him out sometimes. The Rasenshuriken was still one of the most powerful futon moves she had ever seen, she had told him. Even though she didn't have stronger techniques, she helped him with using wind-style while sword fighting, while throwing kunai, and to distract the enemy. While none of these techniques were Naruto's way of fighting, he liked to learn new things. He thought it was his duty, as a Hokage candidate, to know as many techniques as possible to defend the village.

He had finally reached the gate to Suna. While he walked through, he looked at the Hidden Village as if it was a present on Christmas day – taking in the view of the round houses, the huge sand wall around the village, and smelling the typical smell of Suna: Sand, sand, and… well… more sand.

He was greeted by a familiar face.

"Naruto! Welcome in Sunagakure!" Kankuro said enthusiastically. He shook his hand, and Naruto greeted him with a big smile. "I haven't seen you in a while!"

"How are you all doing, Kankuro?" Naruto asked.

"Well, we're doing great since we've started trading food with Konoha, and we've been waiting for you, actually," Kankuro spoke very fast and happy. "We really need to work together more often – Suna and Konoha, you know."  
Kankuro lead Naruto to a small house he always stayed while on a diplomatic mission to Suna. While walking, he kept talking about the things that had happened in Suna while Naruto was gone, how Gaara and Temari were doing and how Temari went on a mission just this morning, and that they should go for a drink this evening.  
He even asked about his teammates – even about Sasuke. Kankuro and Sasuke had only met once, but they had been friends ever since.

"He reminds me of Gaara when he was young," Kankuro had said. "Dark eyes, and a dark heart. But he's a damn good opponent in battle."

After Kankuro left, Naruto took a shower and ate some instant ramen he brought with him. He went out, into the night, heading for the bar his friends in Suna always seemed to prefer, and sighed. It was great to be back!

* * *

Kakashi was early.  
It was weird, how one little girl - _no, wait, she's a woman now_ - a woman, could motivate him enough to show up on time for a mission - let alone early.

He didn't really mind. He had his book, _Icha Icha Secret _this time. The newest release. The pervert in him applauded this new masterpiece, but nothing could beat old _Icha Icha Paradise_.

Sakura wasn't there yet, but she had the habit to always be on time, especially with missions. He sighed, and opened his book.

_He walked through the bathroom, excited and nervous at the same time. He had always loved peeking at the hot springs, and today was his lucky day. The bathroom seemed to be empty, but he could hear female voices outside.  
He had used a technique to make him invisible. Peeking was something that you needed to take seriously, he found. Just for that, he had focused on creating a technique that would make him a master pervert, but also a master peeker.  
He had finally reached the doorway, and what he saw made him blush.  
There were girls of his age playing in the water, giggling as they threw the water into each others faces. They were naked, of course, and he could see their glorious-_

"Kakashi-sensei!"  
_Nice timing, as always,_ Kakashi thought. He closed his book, a bit curious about what would happen next in _Icha Icha Secret_, but then he reminded himself that this was a mission, and that he would have to stay focused.

Sakura wasn't wearing her usual gear. She chose to wear dark grey shorts, a red tank top and a red hitai-ate this time. The first thing he noticed, though, was the look in her eyes. She looked excited.

"I haven't been on a mission for months!" she exclaimed, while stretching out her arms. "I apologize if I can't keep up with you, sensei. All that work in the hospital has made me stiff as a board."

She stretched some more, letting the bones in her body pop. When she was done, she looked at him expectantly.

"Kakashi," she said stern. "Have you forgotten our mission already? We're supposed to go undercover! You can't dress in your full ninja gear while going undercover!" She nudged him playfully. "I knew there had to be something wrong when I saw you standing here!"

Kakashi nudged back carefully - she still had a hell of a temper - and gestured to the backpack on his back. "There are some extra clothes in there as well," he said. "I just feel more comfortable like this.."

"Yeah, I know.. You seem to wear that night and day!" Sakura laughed. "If I didn't know that you sleep in your boxers, I would have guessed that you slept in your full ninja gear.."

Not wanting to go into awkward territory here, he switched into serious mode.

"Alright, Sakura-chan. Let's go!" He jumped on the nearest tree branch, disappearing from her sight.

"That bastard," she mumbled to himself, and quickly jumped after him to catch up.

* * *

**Notes**

Yay, I actually updated!  
Transitional chapter. A bit boring. Next chapter will be more interesting!  
Planning for some alcohol, some more Kakashi/Sakura rambling, and the next pranks!

Thanks for reading!


	3. Books and Bars!

Yay, chapter three! I actually updated this, again!

I still do not own Naruto.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Books and Bars**

_I sat on top of the police station, looking at the modest buildings around me, I couldn't help but to look into her apartment, through her window. _

_I was supposed to watch the village below me, look for any criminals, any unsavoury deals that people made on the streets, but I didn't sense anything. Instead of working, I wanted to see her, and as I focussed on the building where she lived, a light was flicked on._

_She walked in, a beautiful woman who caught my eye when I was young. I had always admired her, and I always tried to impress her, but I never succeeded, even though we were on the same squad._

_Her blonde hair was tied up in two long pigtails, which were on her back. She was wearing a grey, sleeveless kimono, tied together with a darker obi._

_I thought she looked stunning, but she was still my teammate, so I slipped into my secret peeking jutsu. _

_She didn't suspect anything as she began to undress. She loosened the obi around her waist, throwing the garment on a chair in the room. Then she began to remove the blouse._

_I wasn't disappointed when I saw her glorious upper body in its naked glory. Her breasts-_

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura called out, "I think you should change into your civilian clothes now!"

Kakashi sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. Not only did she disrupt him at one of the good parts, again, he also felt like he had just read something a little too autobiographical. The woman Jiraiya described was a little too familiar for his taste. Who else had two apprentices, two blonde pigtails and an enormous chest?!

Kakashi decided to head back to their small camp they set up, to prepare for the mission. He had been reading in a nearby tree. He just didn't want Sakura to ask him questions while he was reading, even though he knew that she normally didn't bother while he was nose-deep into one of his favourite perverted books.

They had already analysed the mission, and had come up with a good strategy. They had to return a few stolen scrolls from a library on the outskirts of fire country. Normally, a mission like this was B-ranked, but Tsunade suspected that they had some strong warriors on their side, and that retrieving the scrolls was quite the challenge.

They were going to visit the library today, as two civilians. They thought of a backstory already – they were tourists who were very curious about fire country, and wanted to read some background information, and pick up a few recipes as well. This was solely to get some information about the library, and about how and where the scrolls were stored.

The library stood in a small village. Most people who lived there worked in the library, which also functioned as a national archive. Somehow, some rogue ninja had stolen some scrolls from Konoha, and hid them in the library to retrieve them later. They must have paid off the owner of the library – normally they could've just walked in and retrieved the documents, but they had tightened the security and the civilians in the village seemed more hostile than ever.

The library's building was quite old, but built beautifully. The building was made out of a smooth grey stone, grey pillars supported the front of the building, and white stone, carved in a flower pattern, was what made the building so incredibly unique. It certainly was a sight to behold, and in the middle of the small village. Kakashi knew that this was going to be a tough break-in.

"I'm ready," Sakura said, and Kakashi turned around and noticed that she looked... normal. She wore a light blue long dress with long sleeves, which had a flower pattern embroidered in it. She had changed her appearance with a henge. Her hair was brown and reminded him of his old teammate – he realized this with a tinge of sadness.

_Rin._

"Sorry Sakura," Kakashi said softly, "I'll change my clothes now."

"I will get us some food sensei," Sakura said, sounding completely normal. Maybe she didn't notice the sadness in his voice. He waited until she had left the camp, and changed into his civilian clothes.

_Why can't I wear a goddamn mask...? _He thought to himself as he used his own henge. He had a bad feeling about this, but nothing that Icha Icha couldn't solve.

* * *

Naruto was drunk. Kankuro was _very _drunk. Gaara was as sober as ever, even though he had drank almost as much as Naruto.

It had been a long day – the negotiations between Gaara and his council and Naruto had gone on longer than expected. When they had finished talking about the third document Naruto had brought, the sun had already set and Suna had already turned as silent as the desert it was built in.

Even though they had two more documents to talk about, the young Kazekage had asked Naruto and his brother to go to their usual bar. Gaara wasn't someone who liked parties, nor people, but he had exclaimed that he needed a drink after the whining of the village advisors. Naruto wondered if Tsunade felt the same way sometimes.

So here they were, drinking all kinds of cocktails that Naruto never had before, free of charge. The Kazekage wasn't hard to recognize, and the bartender had offered him and his friends free drinks while they were there.

Kankuro slammed back yet another glass with a green liquid in it, and hiccupped. "Geez," he slurred. "I should drink less..." Then he winked to a group of girls in the corner of the bar. No kunoichi, but civilian women on a girl's night out.

Naruto was drunk, but alcohol never affected him much. "You shouldn't have drank that whole bottle of sake at the start of the evening... A beer had been a better choice."

Gaara just grinned because of his brother's stupidity, and took another sip of his sake. Meanwhile, Kankuro began to sing a song the both of them never heard before.

"I've never had such a nice evening in a bar. Thank you for coming, Naruto," Gaara said.

Naruto grinned at him. "You have loosened up quite a bit, Gaara. It's great to see you so comfortable around this many people, and in a bar, of all places!"

"I go to bars," Gaara murmured, and pouted a little. Then got tapped on the shoulder by one of the civilian girls, and Gaara turned around to talk to her then. Naruto grinned, he thought it was awesome seeing his friend like that. Maybe Sasuke would one day be a nice guy like Gaara too, but then again, the Uchiha had always been extremely stubborn.

Kankuro had stopped singing, and Naruto suddenly thought of something to ask him. "Kankuro! I need your help, man!" Naruto exclaimed. He didn't react – something Naruto found quite strange, but after poking him a couple of times, he realized why. Kankuro had fallen asleep, his head on the table. So _that's _why he had stopped singing his song.

Naruto had to elbow him a few more times, before Kankuro made a weird snoring noise and woke up, a bit startled. It seems that he had an enjoyable dream, though. He smiled before his face grimaced because of the rough wakeup, and eyed Naruto angrily.

"Why did you wake me up? I had an amazing dream!" Kankuro slurred, still drunk.

"I got to ask you something, dattebayo!" Naruto said enthusiastically. "I know that you can help me for sure! You're a pretty smart guy, right?"

"What is it, then?" Kankuro said, smiling because of the compliment.

"I'm having a prank war with Sak-, erhhh, someone back in Konoha," Naruto explained. "I need something to turn the tides, you know, a prank!"

Kankuro sighed. "Right, I didn't prank anyone the last couple of years… I'll think about it."

"Well, you can always use a special kind of cactus from the desert here," Gaara said, turning around to look at Naruto. The girl at least waited for him to finish talking. "It has a very interesting effect, and will probably serve you well. You will need to make tea with it, though."

"What does it do?" Naruto asked curiously. Tea sounded great - that wasn't as suspicious as stealing clothes, for instance.

"This tea allows you to order the target around for 15 minutes. This means that if I give you this tea, you will do exactly what I say for 15 minutes. It's pretty effective." Gaara grinned then, and looked back at the girl behind him, turning around.

"Gaara might be onto something there," Kankuro mused. "But that plant is quite dangerous. If someone touches one of the needles, it extracts their chakra really quickly... Well, it's too late now. The idea has already gotten into your head, hasn't it?"

Naruto grinned. "This is perfect! Thanks guys! Now, where can I find one of those things?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow," Kankuro sighed. "I'm going home... This is going to be a hell of a headache..."

"It's a promise!" Naruto exclaimed, and jumped up to leave. Gaara stood up too. The girl tried to convince Gaara to stay, but he just shook his head.

"Man, Gaara, you're quite popular with the ladies!" Naruto grinned, and Gaara said nothing. They walked out of the door together, forgetting about Kankuro, who had – again – started singing a weird song. One of the girls in the bar seemed to like that though – they heard someone sing along.

"Well, I'm the Kazekage, Naruto. I can't just bring girls back home."

"Ah, man! I still want to be Hokage though, dattebayo! I'll make up a rule that the Hokage is allowed to have fun!"

The two men laughed then, walking back home through the village they both changed.

* * *

Sasuke was bored. Extremely bored. He normally had teammates he could annoy, but they were all on missions. He didn't really like Tenzou and Sai much, they always acted a bit scared around him, and his snake summons had never been nice.

He missed Taka. Suigetsu, Juugo and Karin had been annoying, but nice people. They understood him and followed him without question. He missed having that bit of authority. His old teammates had left on a trip around the world a five months ago. Sasuke had returned to the village half a year earlier – finally seeing where he should be at this moment. Helping Konoha and trying to change its system to make it less cruel.

He finally understood Itachi, after all those years of hate. Itachi did it out of love for Konoha, and for peace. The method he used – of course, Danzo had told Itachi to murder his entire clan – wasn't something he'd approve of, of course. Sasuke still missed his family. But after his revenge on Danzo, he finally had a chance to search for peace – inner peace, and peace for Konoha.

He didn't do it for the village, no, he did this for his best friend. He had always searched approval, and was quite surprised when he found it right beside him. The Kyuubi container had convinced him to return, and he did.

Of course, Naruto was as obnoxious as ever, but it was clear that he would become Hokage someday, and that they would change the ninja system for good. Naruto promised him that they would rule together as team 7, not alone.

He had always found it strange how Naruto always included Sakura. She wasn't exceptional – but, then again, who could compare to the Kyuubi vessel and a powerful Uchiha.

He always thought that she tried hard. She was a Jnin now, though, and for that, you needed to control at least two elements.

He had trained with her a couple of days ago, before she and Kakashi went on their mission. She was strong, but no match for him. She had only attacked using taijutsu, and her taijutsu wasn't as good as his, but then again, she was overestimating him and seemed very uncomfortable.

_Might as well train, _the Uchiha thought to himself, and as he was walking to the training fields, he thought about how it was nice to be home.

* * *

_We're in trouble_, Sakura thought to herself, when she walked into the library.

The security was horribly tight – she was searched a couple of times, but they couldn't find any weapons, she was questioned, and she had to convince that they were just travellers. They suspected the odd couple – the girl with a blue dress and brown hair, and the older man with a black suit and a short, blonde haircut weren't really normal visitors.

She went into the library, looking for recipes, and heard some guards talking to each other.

"Man, I hate this. They were normal people, not ninja. Why did we have to treat them like that? And that man, he looked rich. A celebrity, almost!"

"Shut up, Darin!" the other exclaimed. "They might hear you!"

Sakura couldn't hear what they were saying after that, but she had greater concerns. She needed to find the scrolls. As she walked to another aisle, she saw Kakashi on the other side of the library.

He looked stunning. He had only bothered to change his hair and scar, which were his most prominent features, normally. He didn't wear a mask, either. The only thing he had to hide was his sharingan. He wore a pair of simple sunglasses that did the task.

He was looking around the library like it was the most beautiful place he'd ever seen. He was pretending to be a tourist, but Sakura knew that he was checking out the entire place. Did the library have any weak points? Were the scrolls locked up behind bars or hidden in a bookcase? Was there a restricted section?

One of the guards near the door saw Kakashi's interest, and whispered something to the guard next to him. Sakura gulped. _Shit._

She quickly grabbed a book from the aisle she just came from, and grabbed a pen from a nearby table. She wrote a short message on a page in the book, and quickly walked to Kakashi.

She approached him, put her hand on his shoulder, and whispered in his ear quietly. She was careful that the guard couldn't see her talking to him. "_77_," she said.

She proceeded to leave the library, and Kakashi flipped the book open. Page 77.

"_They know."_

* * *

Honestly, at first I didn't want to add Sasuke to the story, especially after the last couple of manga chapters (I won't spoil, I promise. This story isn't exactly canon.)

I put him in here anyways, because I've thought of an awesome role for him. I actually like this Sasuke, he seems less mean.

You all might have noticed that these chapters are not going anywhere near the Hokage seat, but I'm setting it up. I just need some more time to put things into place.

I hope you enjoyed reading the first couple of chapters, I'm pleased to announce that the next chapters will be more interesting!

Let me know what you think!


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